2010 ChiSox Post Mortem - Part II (2B, 3B, & SS)

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Tuesday I kicked this series off, explaining that to guess at what 2011 has to offer, including the already begun Hot Stove Season, we have to understand what we went through in 2010 and where it leaves us.

For the next week or so, I'll give you my position-by-position take on what happened and where I'd like to see us go before Opening Day 2011. Tuesday I started with a pair of big free agents, as big as any the Sox have faced in the Kenny-Ozzie era, as I looked at C and 1B (here). I'll also get to LF and CF (here), before finishing with RF and the DH (here). From there, it's the SPs and then RPs to wrap us up.

Today, it's on to the 2B, 3B, and SS positions.


2B Beckham

Talk about a sophomore slump - after winning The Sporting News' Rookie of the Year, this guy was hitting .208 as late as July 10th. Offensively, I think few things were more responsible for the Sox horrendous early season than first, Ozzie making Beckham his #2 hitter, and the second, Beckham responding with such a sustained dreadful performance in the role.

I'll go to my grave in the belief that if Kotsay had been slotted into the #2 slot (spelled by Vizquel against lefties, until Vizquel took over the job on an everyday basis when he became the regular 3B), the whole start of the year would have been different. I think Kotsay would have responded well to being asked to make contact, be patient as JP tried to run, and occasionally lay down bunts or hit behind the runner.

The trickle down effect would have meant that Kotsay wasn't a giant zero in the middle of your lineup (a role he NEVER should have been asked to fill) and that Beckham wouldn't have had the pressure of producing from the top of the lineup. Even had Beckham started off just as slowly, doing so from the #9 slot would have made it much less harmful to the team, not to mention taking the focus off Beckham and giving him more room to work through it.

As it was, Beckham did eventually get moved out of the #2 slot and did eventually bounce back to the form we all expected after his fine rookie season. His second half line - .310 AVG, .380 OBA, .500 SLG. Um, yes please.

Every ballplayer goes through slumps, especially youngsters without a great deal of professional experience. But I think Beckham has learned, probably for the first time in his entire baseball career, that you can have a sustained slump and yet recover to reach the same levels of success you always have had.

What do I expect from Beckham next year? Sure, I'm always a bit optimistic, but something not too far off that second half line. Heck, let's be a bit conservative - I'm still seeing a .290, .365, .470 level of production, which would be outstanding for a 2B.

Especially a 2B who's shown himself to be very good defensively. Whether it was the right call to move him away from 3B, I'm not sure. But accepting he wasn't gonna play at the hot corner for the Sox longterm, then 2B looks like a great move. Beckham showed amazing range, a good turn, and just an overall strong feel out there. Now with a full season under his belt, with his offensive woes hopefully behind him, this kid might very well be looking at Gold Gloves in the future. Why not? It's as much about offensive production as defensive, and Beckham definitely has the skills to be as good at both as anyone in the AL.

In all, the Sox are looking as good at 2B as they have since Ray Durham, a extremely underrated Southsider, showed himself capable as a 24-year old in 1996. And there's no question Beckham provides the potential to be the kind of impact 2B that the Sox haven't had since Nellie Fox in 59 and 60. In all, expect him to deliver somewhere in between Durham's occasional all-star and Fox' Hall of Fame levels for years to come.


3B Vizquel/Teahen/Morel/Viciedo

In addition to recently exercising Castro's option, the Sox also quietly brought back the 44-year old Vizquel for another year. Sure, there's a bit of a Russian roulette thing with any player who's near or above 40, but can you argue with giving him a bit over $1M after the way he basically single-handedly saved their season?

There is no question in my mind that Vizquel solidifying both 3B defensively and the #2 slot in the lineup with above-average play in each was the single biggest one-person impact that swung this club from a disaster to a contender.

So yeah, it's possible that Vizquel has nothing left, that his .276 AVG and .341 OBA will plummet next season as Father Time finally catches up to him. But for the money they're giving Omar, he's well worth the risk, given that you gotta have faith he'll at least be a serviceable utility IF, pinch runner, and spot bunter. Not to mention a great clubhouse presence and invaluable resource for the budding IF superstars Beckham and Alexei, and even Viciedo and Morel.

Speaking of Viciedo and Morel, it'll be interesting to see if either of these kids gets a shot next year. As things stand now, there isn't a clear cut starting 3B, 1B, or DH, and all three spots could be, at least partially, held open for these kids.

So what could we expect? Well who ever knows with prospects. Viciedo is a beefy 21-year old who showed real power at both AAA and in the bigs, but also was able to hit .308 in 104 big league ABs and .276 in 343 in Charlotte. His problem is that he lacks plate discipline and most analysts would suggest his 25 to 2 K:BB ratio means Viciedo will eventually be exposed by regular at-bats at the big league level.

Maybe, but it's also possible he'll refine his approach as he matures and that his natural talents will carry him in the meantime. Especially given that Viciedo's making a decent chunk of change, I could see the Sox trying to find some way to get this kid ABs next year. Whether that will be at 3B, where there are questions about his defense, or 1B, somewhere he's not too used to, or in a mix along with some DH, is one of the more interesting storylines to follow up until Opening Day.

As for Morel, word is that he's a solid defensive 3B, even a really good one. He struggled to hit for much average in his 65 big league at-bats, but he did show some pop and his AAA numbers certainly pop out - .320 AVG, .503 SLG.

The fact that he can handle the leather at third certainly makes Morel a viable option next season, especially because he's so cheap as a 1st year guy. Given the way he has consistently hit minor league pitching (.305 in 1200 ABs over the past three seasons), I could get on board with an off-season plan that has Morel given first shot at 3B, with Vizquel or even Viciedo as the back-up plan.

The one thing I can't get behind and, thankfully it seems clear the White Sox agree, is any more Mark Teahen at 3B for more than a token game every few weeks. Kenny has way more good moves than bad on his resume, but signing Mark Teahen to a deal that pays him $4.75M and and $5.5M in the next two years when Teahen had never shown himself to be anything but a vet's minimum-level worthy utility guy is a real blunder.

Now, with the Sox wanting to contend and pushing hard up against their payroll ceiling thanks to mostly well-spent money on worthwhile assets, that $10M plus is the kind of cash the Sox could really use right now. Especially with the emergence of Viciedo and Morel as youngsters worth getting ABs for on the corners and a logjam of talent already in the corner OF.

The worst part about the move was that it was so obviously terrible at the time (as I detailed in repeated posts last Winter and Spring). Teahen had never shown anything outside of a fluke half years ago in KC. Just committing to him as your everyday 3B for a season was a bad enough decision, but to now be saddled with his very sizable salary for 2 more years when you had NO pressure to do so?!

Remember, Teahen was merely arbitration eligible and could have been signed for right around the same $3.75M they gave him last year, of which $1M+ was already paid for by the Royals. So why on Earth did Kenny, without seeing a single game in a Sox uni to convince him that Teahen was anything more than the clear mediocrity he'd been for years in KC, lock himself into such a hefty pay-out for this guy?

So what's that mean now? Well, you've got yourself a decent enough 1B-3B-LF-RF left-handed bench option for about $4M more than it should cost you each of the next two years. From a purely on-field perspective, Teahen could serve a decent bench role. Ignoring the finances, your baseball team is better with a flexible talent like Teahen to fill some gaps for short periods, providing Ozzie with a host of lineup and substitution options.

But Sox fans and the front office will still be counting the days until his salary comes off the books in two years.

The one upside possibility with Teahen - he could be thrown into a trade to secure an overpaid salary dump from another team. So let's say that the Angels want to get out from as much of Bobby Abreu's $9M salary in both 2011 and 12 as they can. The Sox see him as a nice left-handed DH/occasional OF option, but at closer to $5M per.

Bam, the Sox deal Teahen for Abreu straight up. The Angels get a decent role player and $5M in savings each of the next two seasons, while the Sox get a still productive left-handed bat with some speed and OBA for the $5M bump in team payroll they felt he was worth.

Now I have NO idea if the Angels want to get out from under Abreu or if the Sox have any interest in him these days. It's just one of many examples of the way Teahen could be used in a deal to net the Sox a needed piece that they otherwise wouldn't have spent to get. These type of deals happen all the time and when done right, can really help both sides. Especially in an era when so many teams are trying to cut payroll, the Sox could turn the mistake of signing Teahen into a valuable roster move.


SS Alexei

I don't think he finished out the year this way, but at one point around mid-season Alexei was the best fielding player in all of baseball. Looking at the various stats that the stat world views as a respected measurement of defense, Alexei not only was the best defensive SS, but the best defensive player relative to his position of anybody out there.

Seeing him play in the past, you both can believe that and find it surprising. I mean the kid has always had a cannon and good range, plus a nose for the great play. The potential was so obviously there for great things. However, Alexei never showed the head or commitment to play with any consistency and had actually devolved to a point where you felt he was a negative in the field.

I'm not sure what clicked this year, but I have to imagine two things came into play - a second year at short stop, his natural position, and the presence of arguably the greatest defensive SS of all time, Omar Vizquel, there to tutor him.

I think the emergence of both Beckham and Alexei as viable Gold Glove candidates had at least something to do with watching, talking with, and learning from Omar everyday for an entire season. For that reason I'm pumped that he'll be around again in 2011.

Especially because there are few things I think are as valuable to a team as great defense up the middle. This year, for the first time in a long time, the Sox had that, and they won because of it. Sure, their terrible start offensively and in the rotation followed up by the injury-plagued pen meltdown kept them from a playoff spot, but 88 wins is a respectable total and one based in large part on the great play of Alexei, Beckham, and Rios up the middle.

Offensively, I think we can count on two things from Alexei - a terrible April and then a pretty steady .285 and 20 HR level of production the rest of the way. It's been three years on the South Side for him now and all three years show the same exact splits - horrible April and around .280+ average in the rest of the months.

Out of a SS as good defensively as any in the game? I'll take it. Now that you know he can't hit in April, you can slot him in the #9 spot, give him a bunch of days off to keep him fresh for later, and then reap the rewards once May rolls around.

All I really want to see this kid get better at is running the bases. He's as flat out fast as anyone out there, but Alexei just doesn't have the right approach. Hopefully with Pierre now settled in, he can provide a bit of tutelage to Alexei on what it takes to become a good base-stealer. Even if Alexei can just develop an average approach, with his speed and Ozzie's aggressive approach, he could easy go from the 13 steals in 21 attempts-type runners he's been in each of his first three seasons to a 25 out of 33 level.

In all, you've got to be encouraged by the young, dynamic talent the Sox have on the infield and what it can mean to their success. 3B will be interesting to see unfold, but at least the Sox are looking at a number of different viable options, instead of hoping for some miracle (e.g. Teahen morphing into not being a bum).


Monday - LF and CF (here).

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